Chapter 113: ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN

Nicholas’s POV

I looked at the document on my phone again, my eyebrows drawing together as I went back to read the stranger’s message again.

I typed another message. "How can you expect me to trust the information you sent me if you won’t even tell me where it came from?"

I sent it and waited. The person didn’t answer immediately, and I found myself staring at the screen longer than I intended. Eventually, the typing indicator appeared, disappeared, then appeared again before another message came through. "You don’t have to trust me. You only need to decide what you do with the information."

I scoffed quietly and dropped my head against the pillow. "That’s not an answer."

I typed again, but this time I stopped before sending it. There was no point. Whoever this person was, they clearly had no intention of telling me anything they didn’t want me to know. I locked my phone and placed it beside me, but my mind was still working through everything I’d learned.

My father had been an Omega.

I wondered what it had been like for him.

I’d spent so much of my life thinking about my father as the man who had died when I was young, someone my mother described in only a handful of sentences.

I finally turned off my phone and settled beneath the blankets. Adrian had already agreed to help me investigate, and tomorrow we’d start visiting the places where my father had worked.

That alone was able to calm me and I closed my eyes to sleep.

The next morning, we had breakfast together before leaving the penthouse. Adrian had everything written down on his phone, including the addresses of the workplaces we’d found during our research. He went over the order we would visit them in while the rest of us finished eating.

"We’ll start with the oldest workplace," Adrian said, looking around the table. "It’s the closest, so we won’t waste time driving across the city and coming back."

Elijah swallowed the food in his mouth before asking, "How many places are we visiting again?"

"Five."

His eyes widened. "Five?"

Adrian gave him a look. "You knew that yesterday."

"I knew there were several. I didn’t realize several meant five."

Roman laughed under his breath. "You were too busy complaining about being bored to listen."

"I was not complaining."

Cassian shook his head as he stood and picked up his plate. "Can we leave before those two start arguing about what complaining means?"

I smiled as I watched them, knowing they would be like this the whole way. Once breakfast was finished, we got ready and headed out.

The first workplace was an old company located in a building that looked much smaller than I had expected. Adrian parked nearby, and we walked inside together. There was a reception area near the entrance, and an older man was sitting behind the desk, going through some paperwork.

Adrian approached him. "Excuse me. We’re looking for some information about someone who worked here many years ago."

The man looked up. "Who?"

"My father," I answered before Adrian could.

The man waited for the actual name, and Adrian supplied it. The older man repeated it slowly, searching his memory before shaking his head. "I’m sorry. I don’t recognize that name."

Adrian didn’t immediately give up. "He worked here a long time ago. We’re not asking for anything confidential. We just want to know whether you remember him or if there’s anyone here who might have worked with him."

The man leaned back in his chair. "How long ago are you talking?"

Adrian gave him the approximate period.

The man’s expression changed slightly as he thought about it. "That was a very long time ago. We had different people running the company then."

"Do you still have employee records from that period?"

"No." The man shook his head.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing that old," the man replied. "Back then, we didn’t keep records the way companies do now. Most things were written down manually, and a lot of those files were eventually thrown away when the company moved offices."

I stepped forward. "What about people who worked here back then? Do you know any of them?"

The man shook his head. "Some retired. Some moved away. I wouldn’t even know where to begin looking for them."

Adrian nodded, though I could tell he wasn’t satisfied. "Do you remember anyone mentioning him? Perhaps an Omega who worked here around that time?"

The man thought again, but after a few seconds, he shook his head. "No. I’m sorry. I really can’t help you."

"That’s fine," Adrian said politely. "Thank you for your time."

We thanked the man and stepped outside.

I remained quiet as we walked back toward the car. I’d expected the first place to have at least something. A record or a former colleague. Even a small story about my father. Instead, we’d walked in and walked out with nothing.

Adrian seemed to notice my disappointment. "We still have four places."

"I know," I said. "I just thought someone would remember him."

"Maybe someone will at the next one."

I nodded and got into the car. The second workplace was different from the first. It was a larger company, and after Adrian explained why we were there, we were directed to a woman who had access to some of the older employment records. She sat behind a desk and opened a computer before looking at Adrian. "You said you’re searching for someone who worked here years ago?"

"Yes. His name was—" Adrian gave her my father’s name.

She typed it into the system. "Give me a moment."

We waited while she searched. After a few seconds, she frowned and tried again, checking the spelling before scrolling through the results. "I have something here."

My attention immediately sharpened. "What does it say?" I asked.

She looked at me. "Are you related to him?"

"He’s my father."

"Oh." She turned the screen slightly toward herself again. "Yes, he worked here. But he wasn’t here very long."

Adrian leaned forward. "Do you know why he left?"

The woman hesitated. "According to the record, he was dismissed."

My stomach tightened.

"Why?" Adrian asked.

She looked uncomfortable. "There was an incident involving one of the company’s clients."

"What kind of incident?"

"I don’t have every detail. The record only says that an Alpha client complained about him." She shrugged.

I frowned. "Complained about what?"

The woman looked down at the screen. "His scent."

For a moment, nobody said anything and I stared at her. "His scent?"

She nodded. "The client apparently refused to continue doing business with the company if your father remained involved. Management decided to terminate his employment."

I couldn’t help staring at her. "So he was fired because an Alpha didn’t like the way he smelled?"

The woman sighed. "That’s what the record suggests."

Adrian’s expression hardened. "And the company thought that was enough reason to dismiss an employee?"

"It was a long time ago," she said carefully. "Standards and policies were different."

"That doesn’t make it right." I hissed.

"I didn’t say it did." She looked at me with a sad smile.

I looked away from them, trying to process what I’d just heard. I had known that Omegas were treated badly. I’d experienced enough of it myself to understand that. But hearing about my father going through something similar before I was even born made me wonder how many times he had been forced to endure things like that.

Adrian noticed that I had gone quiet. "Do you have anything else about him?" he asked the woman.

She searched through the records again. "Not much. There’s the employment period, the department he worked in, and the dismissal note. That’s about it."

"Was there anyone listed as his supervisor?"

She checked. "Yes, but that person no longer works here."

"Do you know where we could find them?"

"I’m afraid not." She shook her head.

Adrian thanked her, and we left the office. Once we were outside, I stopped beside the car. "I don’t like this."

Adrian turned toward me. "What?"

"The way he was treated." I rubbed my hands together as I thought about it. "The first place didn’t even remember him, and this place fired him because an Alpha complained about his scent. What if that happened everywhere he worked?"

"Then we’ll find out," Adrian said. "That’s why we’re checking the other places."

I looked at him. "I keep wondering what he had to go through before he started that company."

Adrian opened the car door. "Nicholas, don’t put that pressure on yourself. We have more places to visit."

I got into the car with the others, but the conversation stayed in my mind as we drove away.

The third workplace gave us more information, although not enough to answer all our questions.

We spent some time there speaking with someone who had actually remembered my father, and Adrian took notes on everything he could tell us. By the time we finally left, however, the day had begun catching up with all of us.

Elijah stretched as soon as we reached the car. "I’m tired."

Roman immediately opened the door. "I’m hungry."

I laughed weakly. "I’m both."

Adrian looked at the three of us before shaking his head. "We still have two more places."

Elijah stared at him. "Two?"

"One workplace and the civil rights company."

"You’re telling me we haven’t even reached the important one yet?" Elijah sighed. "Oh fuck, if it wasn’t for Nicholas, I would have gone home."

"Not yet. Calm down."

Roman closed the car door and sighed. "Then we’re eating first."

Adrian looked at him for a moment before agreeing. "Fine. We’ll stop for lunch, then continue."

That was enough to make everyone move toward the car.

We found a restaurant nearby and decided to eat before continuing the investigation. I was tired, but I couldn’t deny that I was still curious about what we’d find at the remaining workplaces.

Especially the last one.

The civil rights company my father had built.